I move amendment No. 110:—
Before Section 51 to insert the following new section:—
(1) As on and from the 1st day of January, 1945—
(a) the Agreement of 1887 and the Agreement of 1910 shall cease to have effect;
(b) the liability of the Northern Railway Company, under the Agreement of 1887 and the Agreement of 1910, to contribute a sum not exceeding £2,000 per annum towards payment of a dividend at the rate of 4 per cent. per annum on the 4 per cent. City of Dublin Junction Railways' Guaranteed Stock of the dissolved railway company and all liability, contingent or otherwise, of the company to the Northern Railway Company or of the Northern Railway Company to the company in respect of the said contribution shall cease;
(c) the company shall continue to operate the normal system of trains run before the said date for the purposes of, and in connection with, the mails services of the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs, over the Dublin Junction Railways and the company's railway between Westland Row in the City of Dublin and Dun Laoghaire Mail Pier, until the company and the Northern Railway Company, with the consent of the said Minister agree otherwise;
(d) if, for convenience of working, the Northern Railway Company send any carriage or rolling stock over the Dublin Junction Railways and the company's railway between Westland Row aforesaid and Dun Laoghaire Mail Pier, no payment shall be made by the company to the Northern Railway Company in respect of any such carriage or rolling stock, nor shall any toll for haulage be charged by the company against the Northern Railway Company in respect of any such carriage or rolling stock.
(2) In consideration of the arrangements effected by sub-section (1) of this section, the Northern Railway Company shall, on the 1st day of January, 1945, pay to the company the sum of £8,000.
(3) In this section—
the expression "the Northern Railway Company" means the Great Northern Railway Company (Ireland);
the expression "the Agreement of 1887" means the agreement made on the 26th day of August, 1887, between the Northern Railway Company of the first part, the former City of Dublin Steam Packet Company of the second part, and the former Dublin, Wicklow and Wexford Railway Company of the third part;
the expression "the Agreement of 1910" means the agreement made on the 7th day of July, 1910, between the Northern Railway Company of the first part, the former City of Dublin Steam Packet Company of the second part, and the former Dublin and South Eastern Railway Company formerly the Dublin, Wicklow and Wexford Railway Company of the third part.
the expression "the Dublin Junction Railways" means the railways constructed under the Dublin Wicklow and Wexford Railway (City of Dublin Junction Railways) Act, 1884.
In the Bill, as originally framed, Section 51, provided for the continuance of the liabilities and rights of the guarantors of the 4 per cent. City of Dublin Junction Railways guaranteed stock, and made arrangements to give effect to any agreement that might be arrived at between the guarantors for the termination of the arrangement, and, furthermore, provided for the appointment of an arbitrator in the event of such agreement not being made. Since then, however, discussions have taken place between the parties, and, arising out of these discussions, it is proposed to insert in the Bill this new section in substitution for Section 51, which makes a new arrangement in relation to the City of Dublin Junction Railways.
The City of Dublin Junction Railway was built as a result of the agreement of 1887 which is referred to in the amendment. That agreement was entered into by the Great Northern Railway Company, the Dublin Steampacket Company, and the Dublin, Wicklow and Wexford Railway Company. The capital of the City of Dublin Junction Railway was £300,000: £50,000 preference stock, £225,000 4 per cent. guaranteed preference stock, £25,000 unguaranteed stock, and there was also an issue of debenture stock. The dividend upon the guaranteed stock was guaranteed in perpetuity by the three companies: the Great Northern Railway Company, the Dublin Steampacket Company, and the Dublin, Wicklow and Wexford Railway Company, which is now the Great Southern Railways Company. The City of Dublin Steampacket Company's portion of the guarantee was liquidated by the lodgment in court of £35,000. The Great Southern Railways Company have completed arrangements for the redemption of the City of Dublin Junction Railways stocks in connection with which other amendments will be moved later. In the main part, these stocks will be redeemed in cash, and, to a lesser extent, by the exchange of redeemable debentures of the new company. The unguaranteed stocks were held entirely by the Great Southern Railways Company, and will be cancelled under the provisions of Section 117. The new arrangement which has been arrived at in consultation with the directors of the Great Southern Railways Company and the Great Northern Railway Company involves the payment by the Great Northern Railway Company to the new company on the 1st January, 1945, of a sum of £8,000, and thereafter the agreements of 1887 and 1910 will cease to have effect, with the exception of certain arrangements which are specifically retained by the wording of the amendment. These provisions in the amendment relate to the running, by the company, of certain Post Office services over the line, and for reciprocity in regard to the use of rolling stock of the Great Northern Railway Company, and of tolls for haulage. Until 1942 the guarantors had to make payments every year to enable the dividend upon the guaranteed stock to be paid. In 1942 there was no call made on the guarantors. Under the old arrangement, however, the guarantors continued to be liable in the event of default, but would be entitled to recover the amount paid by them in respect of their guarantee out of any surplus which might be earned in other years. The new agreement brings that old arrangement to an end. The stock will be liquidated and cancelled; the guarantee will cease to be operative, and a sum of £8,000, will be paid by the Great Northern Railway Company as a result of which it will secure release from its liabilities under the agreement.